Can Patients With Isolated Mandibular Fractures Be Treated as Outpatients?

Is Insurance Payer Associated With Hospital Admission of Emergency Department Patients With Mandible Fractures?

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of consensus on the optimal triage pathway for emergency department (ED) patients with mandibular fractures. It remains unclear if patient insurance payers predict hospital admission given potentially competing logistical and health system incentives.

PURPOSE

To generate nationally representative estimates of the frequency of hospital admission and its association with primary insurance payers for ED patients with mandible fractures.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study used the 2018 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, the largest all-payer database in the United States, to identify patients with mandible fractures. The database includes a stratified sample with discharge weights to generate nationally representative estimates. Patients with other facial fractures and/or concomitant injuries that independently warranted admission were excluded.

PREDICTOR

The primary predictor variable was primary payer (public, private, self-pay, and other/no charge).

OUTCOME VARIABLE

The primary outcome variable was hospital admission (yes/no).

COVARIATES

Covariates included patient-, medical/injury-, and hospital-related variables.

ANALYSES

Descriptive statistics, along with bivariate and multivariate logistic regression with Bonferroni correction, were used to produce national estimates and identify predictors of admission. P < .01 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The cohort included 27,238 weighted encounters involving isolated mandible fractures, of which 5,345(20%) were admitted. The payers for admitted patients were 46% public, 25% private, 22% self-pay, and 7% no charge/other. In bivariate analyses, public insurance was associated with a higher likelihood of admission than private insurance (RR 1.24, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.45), though there was no association in the multivariate model (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.28). In multivariate analysis, higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.48), alcohol-related disorder (OR 3.47, 95% CI 2.74 to 4.39), substance-related disorder (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.71), and more mandible fractures (OR 3.08, 95% CI 2.65 to 3.59) were associated with admission. Compared to body fractures, subcondylar (OR 3.83, 95% CI 2.39 to 6.14), angle (OR 3.53, 95% CI 2.84 to 6.09), and symphysis (OR 4.14, 95% CI 2.84 to 6.09) fractures had higher odds of admission. Finally, level I (OR 4.11, 95% CI 2.41 to 6.98) and level II (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.85 to 5.39) trauma centers had higher odds of admission.

CONCLUSIONS

In 2018, 20% of ED patients with isolated mandible fractures were admitted. Several patient and hospital characteristics were predictors of admission. Insurance status was not associated with admission.

Emergency versus semi-elective management of mandible fractures: a Maxillofacial Trainee Research Collaborative (MTReC) study

INTRODUCTION

Recent evidence suggests that acute emergency management of mandible fractures does not improve surgical outcomes yet is associated with increased financial burden. Current NHS policy advocating for increased adoption of day-case and semi-elective surgical procedures to reduce bed strain must be balanced with providing timely, effective treatment. Our research aims to determine patient groups currently managed via semi-elective admission and whether this can be extended to other groups to provide safe and effective management of mandible fractures.

METHODS

A multi-national trainee-led audit of mandibular fractures across 49 units was completed by the Maxillofacial Trainee Research Collaborative (MTReC). Each unit prospectively collected data on fractures on admission and at follow-up. Data collected included patient demographics, behaviour, health, injury, timing to intervention and surgical complications.

RESULTS

Data were collected on 947 mandibular fractures. Of the surgically managed patients, 649 (90%) were managed via acute emergency admission at the time of presentation, while 68 (10%) were managed semi-electively. Patient demographics, injury pattern and mechanism appeared to significantly affect timing of management, whereas patient behaviour, health status, timing of injury and presentation did not. Semi-elective management was associated with a significantly shorter inpatient duration (0.9 versus 1.9 days, p=0.000) with no differences in readmission, antibiotic usage or surgical complications (p=1.000, RR 1.030).

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates the efficacy of planned admissions and semi-elective management of mandibular fractures. Simple mandibular fractures in compliant patients are suitable for semi-elective treatment. Holistic patient assessment and tailored surgical planning is crucial in determining admission modality to effectively manage mandibular trauma.

Comprehensive analysis of patients with failure of mandibular hardware

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study was to characterize patients who had failure of mandibular hardware (FMH).

STUDY DESIGN

This retrospective cohort study consisted of patients with mandible fractures (MFs) that required surgical intervention from 2012 to 2020. Patients were included when mandibular hardware failed. Descriptive variables were collected.

RESULTS

During the study period, 57 patients (47 male, average age 38.7 years) met the inclusion criteria. Incidence of FMH was 7.4%. Most patients were African American (n = 45, 78.9%) with American Society of Anesthesiologists classification II (n = 40, 70.2%). Tobacco use (n = 31, 54.4%) and/or alcohol (n = 33, 57.9%). The most common etiology was assault (n = 28, 49.1%). The most common location was the angle of the mandible. Most mandibles had fracture at 1 location (n = 31, 54.4%) and a tooth was involved in the fracture line (n = 44, 77.2%). More than half of patients were treated with transoral surgical approach (n = 35, 61.4%). The majority of patients received preoperative antibiotics (n = 51, 89.4%). Patients had varying levels of compliance with postoperative care, and most were not compliant. Infection (n = 45) was the most common presentation of FMH.

CONCLUSION

High American Society of Anesthesiologists score, smoking, excessive alcohol use, parafunctional habits, and compliance with postoperative instructions may affect surgical outcome.

Does the Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5) Predict Adverse Outcomes in Maxillofacial Fracture Repair?

PURPOSE

Frailty has been recognized as a predictor of postoperative adverse outcomes in many surgical subspecialties. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between frailty and complications in patients undergoing operative repair of facial fractures.

METHODS

The authors utilized the 2011 to 2018 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) databases to identify patients with facial fractures undergoing operative repair. The primary predictor variable was frailty as measured by the 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5). The primary outcome variable was the postoperative complication rate. Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple logistic regression statistics were utilized to evaluate the relationship between frailty and complications.

RESULTS

During the study period, 4,290 subjects underwent operative repair of a facial fracture. Of these subjects, 4,086 (83.0%) were classified as nonfrail, 626 (12.7%) as moderately frail, and 208 (4.20%) as severely frail. A total of 237 subjects experienced a complication (4.82%), and the incidence of complications increased in a stepwise manner with increasing frailty (P ≤ .001). In multivariate regression, age (P = .050, 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.02), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (P = .018, 95% CI = 1.23 to 8.63), classification as moderately frail (P = .010, 95% CI = 1.15 to 2.66), classification as severely frail (P = .032, 95% CI = 1.06 to 3.70), mandibular fractures (P = .004, 95% CI = 1.24 to 2.98), and wound classification as contaminated (P ≤ .001, 95% CI = 1.53 to 4.57) or dirty/infected (P = .020, 95% CI = 1.16 to 5.55) were independent predictors of complications. Severely frail subjects also had greater length of hospital admission (P ≤ .001) and higher 30-day readmission rates (P ≤ .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Frailty is an independent predictor of complications following facial fracture repair and is associated with greater length of hospital admission and 30-day readmission rates.

Is Outpatient Management of Mandibular Fractures Associated With Inflammatory Complications? An ACS-NSQIP Study

PURPOSE

Timing of mandibular fracture repair has long been debated. The purpose of the present study was to assess the incidence of postoperative inflammatory complications (POICs) following open repair of mandibular fractures managed non-urgently in the outpatient setting versus urgently in the inpatient setting.

METHODS

The authors utilized the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database to enroll a sample of patients with mandibular fractures who underwent open repair. The primary independent variable was treatment protocol: outpatient (elective) versus inpatient (urgent/non-elective). The primary dependent variable was POIC (yes/no). Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple logistic regression statistics were utilized to evaluate the relationship between treatment protocol and POICs.

RESULTS

The study cohort was comprised of 1,848 subjects with 1,134 outpatients and 714 inpatients. The incidence of POICs was 6.53% for the outpatient group compared to 8.96% for the inpatient group, with no significant difference between groups (P= .052). However, subjects treated as inpatients were 1.51 times more likely to experience any complication (P = .008) due to an increase in non-POICs (P = .028), in particular urinary tract infections (P = .035). After adjusting for age, hypertension requiring medical treatment, and smoking, classification as ASA II (P = .046, OR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.01 to 4.83), ASA III (P = .020, OR = 2.88, 95% CI 1.18 to 7.02), diabetes (P = 0.004, OR = 3.11, 95% CI 1.43 to 6.74), and preoperative hematocrit (P = 0.010, OR = 0.950, 95% CI 0.913 to 0.988) were independent predictors of POICs. Length of stay was 0.83 ± 2.61 days compared to 2.36 ± 3.63 days for the outpatient and inpatient groups, respectively (P ≤ .001).

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant difference in POICs between patients treated as outpatients versus inpatients, though outpatients had fewer non-POICs and a shorter length of hospital stay.

Is Distance Between Home and Treatment Site a Risk Factor for Complications After Treating Mandibular Fractures?

PURPOSE

Our level I trauma center provides care over a large geographic area including Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, with many patients traveling hundreds of miles to receive care. Distance to a treatment site is documented to be an independent risk factor for complications after multisystem trauma, but it is unclear if it is a risk factor for isolated mandibular fractures. The study purpose was to measure the association between distance to treatment site and risk for postoperative complications after treatment of isolated mandibular fractures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The investigators designed and implemented a retrospective cohort study and enrolled a sample derived from patients treated for isolated mandibular fractures at Harborview Medical Center by the oral and maxillofacial surgery service between June 2012 and December 2016. The primary predictor variable was distance (miles) between the patient's residence and site of treatment (Harborview Medical Center). The primary outcome variable was postoperative complication (yes or no), subcategorized as major and minor. Secondary outcome variables were time to treatment between injury and operative treatment (days) and length of hospital stay (LOS) (days). Descriptive, bivariate, and multiple logistic regression statistics were computed to measure the association between distance to treatment site and postoperative complications, time to treatment, and LOS. The level of statistical significance was set at P ≤ .05.

RESULTS

The study sample was composed of 403 subjects with a mean age of 32.6 ± 14.3 years and 80% were men. The average distance from the patient's residence to treatment site was 44.8 ± 128.6 miles (range, 0 to 1,440 miles; median, 20.4 miles). Major complications occurred in 11.6% of patients. The average distance between patients with and without postoperative complications was not significantly different (42.3 ± 55.8 miles vs 45.5 ± 141.7 miles; P = .8). Increasing distance was significantly associated with longer LOS (r = 0.16; P < .001) but not time to treatment (r = .04; P = .4).

CONCLUSIONS

In contrast to other studies regarding multisystem trauma, complications after treating isolated mandible fractures were not associated with increasing distance to treatment site. Increasing distance may be associated with longer LOS but not time to treatment.